~ Omar, with a bit of cheese

Early rising

There will be no yeast activity today, but there has been an early rising. Alarms were set and I am vertical, drinking coffee until such time as Kelly arrives with our little island bus at around 8:30, to propel me, yawning, to the ferry terminal at Loth. The ferry leaves at 09:15 and we should berth at Kirkwall at 10:40.

The ferry home leaves at 15:20 – we shall need to board the boat at 15:00, so I have four hours and twenty minutes in town today. It is way too long. I am currently trying to decide between knitting and Kindle to pass the time on the boat and in the coffee shop or library or waiting room. One of the things that Gill and I have to do on the boat is to plan the group flour-buying initiative. I have reams of web output printed and stashed in my rucksack. Probably too much info in fact to aid a simple decision.

Shopping plans today include fruit, probably pineapple, and rum to start the rumtopf off. I am also hoping to be able carry home some items to make a chutney, I must bring home fresh fruit, salad and vegetables, and I would like to find some milk for cheese-making. Pork Pie has been requested. A bag of Bere meal will probably go into my trolley at Shearer’s, and no doubt I shall stand there for ages, wondering if I can afford space for Rye and for Spelt. I have this strange idea that I can fit in some clay flowerpots too, from the same source, but that’s pretty much madness, really. There are limits to how much I can lug between the shops and the ferry terminal. It is a short walk into town when disembarking the boat, but a far longer walk back again!

There are a couple of things that I do want but am 99% certain that I will not find in our tiny shopping centre – one of them being some decent candied peel, the other is some big fat Muscatel raisins. I should look for an online source. The candied peel I could make myself, but I have a strong feeling that the high humidity levels here would make the job challenging and the peel would not keep well.

Time moves on. I need a second coffee. It is cold and icy outside, I shall be needing to choose some flamboyant hand knits to ward off the chill and lift my spirits.